Tips On Being A Boating Expert
Using Winter Downtime To Learn
How do you get to be a better boater? Read a good deal, get hands-on expertise and practice. What better time to dig into the details of boating than the upcoming couple of cold months when you're home, dreaming of bright days ahead? Tackle one another weekend, and you'll be a rock superstar by April.
1. Get Familiar With Your Electronics Suite
Many people quickly learn the basics of a new Chartplotter or Radar, but that is as far as they go. However, today's systems are uber-powerful with more information and resources than you can imagine. Dust off the manual and spend a day or two learning the in-depth workings of your electronic equipment. Make sure you get the most up-to-date e-charts through software downloads and create waypoints that you might need later on.
2. Create Checklists
Checklists are magical in that they keep everything coordinated without you having to reinvent the wheel (on your head) whenever you leave or arrive back at the dock. When you build a routine, write it down so that you won't have to dust off the brain cells about what to do next year.
Spend an afternoon writing down steps to take in the event of flood, fire, abandon ship, engine failure or crew overboard. It will be easier to take the proper steps when panic sets in if you've already guessed it through beforehand. Additionally, keep the lists from the helm for future reference. Post the appropriate way to call in a crisis on the VHF if you are incapacitated, and your crew doesn't understand how to use the radio.
Think through all that goes on during a typical boat outing. By way of example, when departing, you may have to open thru-hulls, check engine oil and transmission fluid, track batteries, disconnect the shore power cord, and turn on electronics at the primary and flybridge helms. Once you go back, the procedure might consist of shutting down and assessing the engines, ensuring the bilge is dry, switching lights off and security systems on, flushing the outboard, putting on canvas, and rinsing the decks. Whatever the procedure -- just get down it. That way, guests that come along as intermittent crew can help without having too much guidance and everything is smoother, faster and safer.
3. Get To Know Your Systems
Winter is a great time to spend your downtime working on boat maintenance and updates. Change the motor and Genset oil, support the running gear if necessary, fix those odd lights that seem to work satisfactorily, and load up your apparatus and handheld radios with fresh batteries. Also, check your fire extinguishers and dig through your first aid kit for died medication, bandage illness and stock of all seasickness pills. This is the material that gets no focus when you're out having fun, but it has to be working and ready when required. Obtaining hands-on with your stocks and systems will make you a more competent skipper all around.
4. Examine The Rules
Not just right-of-way advice, these rules take a comprehensive understanding of lights and day shapes that identify another vessel's situation or illness from afar. For example, if a ship is displaying two red lights, one over the other, what's happening aboard? There are fantastic mnemonics that assist you remember. Red over red -- that the captain is dead -- that the vessel isn't under control. Red over white is most likely a commercial fishing vessel: red over white -- fishing at night.
Another great tool that will keep you amused on cold winter evenings is the Weems and Plath LIGHTRule. It is more entertaining than it sounds and you can always make a game of quizzing your first partner. Keep it aboard for fast reference throughout the boating season.
Tie a whole lot. Study your knots to become an authentic mariner who can presume mindset when coming upon a dock cleat having a mound of tangled line wrapped about it. Knots can get you out of a situation if you require a tow or an anchor snubber. The must-know knots include the cleat hitch, the clove hitch, the round-turn-two half hitches, a sheet bend and the all-purpose bowline. A rolling sander employed to anchor string is a fantastic way to produce an on-the-go snubber that may take the strain off your windlass and back into some cleat when anchored in bouncy conditions.
Take some classes in weather or coastal navigation, especially in the event that you feel a little rusty. The USCG Auxiliary and Power Squadron offer classes that will keep you in the boating mindset during the long months if you're not aboard.
5. Become A Better First Mate
Better boating is not only the captain's duty. A competent first partner can make all the difference and cover for some mistakes too. Besides, what should the captain falls ill or overboard and the partner's the one in charge?
Learning to anticipate what a boat will do or what the captain needs makes an excellent first mate. Communication is vital so learn hand signs, stop crying, and stand an eye so that the captain can rest, and handle dock lines with grace.
Boating specialists learn and practice all the time -- that's how they became experts. So set some learning goals to achieve by Spring -- because a brighter boater, is a safer boater.
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